Prologue: An Unexpected Call
---- What was life. What is life. What will life be. Three phrases, three tenses, one topic, one meaning. From a glance, they could all mean a separate thing due to how differently structured they are to one another. It is really but an illusion, to make you look harder and delve into what it truly is. A puzzle, meant to make you think what all three mean all together. Curiosity, otherwise known as "inquisitiveness" or "interest", is what advances human life, is what advances our knowledge and in turn allows us to advance as a race, as a whole, as one. Without curiosity, how do you think the known world would've existed? Without curiosity, how do you think humans would live like by now. Without curiosity, would we know what is good and what is bad? Our entire existence, the way we live, the knowledge we have, is all thanks to a simple genetic program in our tiny minds that allows us to question the world and what it has to offer. With curiosity, we can find secrets that the world chooses to hide from us. But what is the world hiding from us? What secrets have we yet to discover? As humans, we don't like not having knowledge, we want to be intellectual and know everything. It's natural, it's a program just like curiosity, but it's a very important but dangerous kind of program that we have to learn in order to stay human. That's why some of us humans have resorted to making worlds of our known, authors who like to detail and mentally up new and mystical worlds and universes that are completely new to the readers of their texts. Though many of these authors are just like the latter, they don't like not having knowledge and they want to be intellectual and know everything. It's natural, it's a fact and it happens to all human beings no matter how different you make yourself seem from the truth. These authors create worlds where they, and they alone would be the only ones to know every detail that this new world has to offer. From the smallest rock to the biggest mountain, all detail is known to the author themselves, as it is them alone that is creating this whole new world for the reader, who just like people in reality, don't know what this whole new world still has to offer. That is because the author is the one who makes the rules in this game, the one who creates the worlds bit by bit and takes in knowledge of how this world is made up. Because in this world, they are playing god. Envy, sometimes known as "Jealousy" and "Resentfulness" is a basic human emotion, a basic human feeling that is important to how we live and survive. With envy we would become too trusting, too nice, too kind, too positive to the point where enemies do not exist and the world can begin to really turn it's back. Humans envy god. That's why they look to create these new worlds, where they are in control and no-one else. They envy the real gods as they see and realise that they are lower to them, where they are at a low position where their power that they hold on the mortal earth cannot even match the magnificent and glorious power that the gods above in the heavens hold as if it was a thread. This is what authors have come from, the jealousy that humans hold against the gods of above as they want their fair share of the power that the mighty beings hold for themselves. It's natural to envy something, because being jealous we won't have the urge and feel to want something that another person has. However, envy may be one of the most affected emotions and feelings that a human could get depending on the motivation that the human may get. With the right motivation, a human can strive, can work to their best in order to help them achieve their goal in getting the prize that they wanted, all because they envied it being in the possession of another man's ownership. However, with the wrong motivation, then a human may choose to take the simpler route in order to achieve their goal of getting what they want. Through cheating, lying, killing others in order to take it right from their hands, even just stealing the possession right from them with at worst with the owner being right there, that kind of human has disrupted their society and has chosen to become outcasted by their fellow humans. When you have disrespected the property and well being of another of your kind, you have ultimately chosen to be outcasted, kicked out and judged by your former race. You are no longer considered one of them, but something different that cannot be explained with simple words, neither complicated ones. You're just different and depending on how much humanity you've got left and have retained from such an act, the feeling of guilt will reign down upon you and destroy your body from within. Tearing you apart until you are no more than what you formerly were, and the very being that your former kind had seen you as after you have desecrated their community. For humans, their envy against the gods is pointless, as there is nothing to achieve through both motivations no matter how hard one can try. Positive motivation can only get a human so far as to being emperor or king, statuses that have named their occupants as the spiritual sons and daughters of the gods themselves, but not necessarily actually gods. Though through bad motivation, humans are still at stumped. One cannot steal from a god but their earthly possessions. One cannot cheat or lie to a god as a god knows all. But humans have selfishly been able to metaphorically kill a god, by simply kill''ing contact with them, their existence in their own mind that god simply isn't real to them anymore, effectively killing their identity and so forth. This way, humans have found a procedure and method to somewhat slay a god and it's presence in the heavens. '''Death', the grimmest truth of all and something that everyone faces no matter what. Sometimes referred to as "Passing" or "Expiration", is the end of things, it's demise, the conclusion of it's life. We all face death no matter what, there's no way to evade it. It is imminent, just like existence no matter what you have trying to stop it. Sure immortality may seem like an eternity but it does not halt the chance of death, it only prolongs the minutes that you have until you actually meet your end. Wether you like it or not, the end is always coming, it won't wait until your prepared for it because it will strike at anytime, anywhere. It doesn't care the circumstances you are in, all it cares about is you reaching your expiry date and taking you the empty black void that many call as the afterlife or death itself. Death is a cruel master, who waits for no one. There are two deaths that one can face during their existence, their natural death where their body will decay and their organs give out. But their second death, is the death of their identity and their existence on this earth. This death applies only to the normal folk, whose names will be lost to the ages of time, and as soon as their name is spoken one last, they will be forgotten forever as they truly die. Curiosity, Envy and Death. Three words, three meanings, three truths and one similarity. ---- He stood there, clueless to the series of events that had just happened in front of him, as if he was a new born baby introduced to their new home. His tattooed hands were stained with blood and the knife's handle that he gripped tightly was chilled with the cold air that seeped through the cracks in the brick wall. An eerie silence filled the room after having taken the place of intense sounds of struggle and despair, two sounds that he was used to during work. "F-Fuck, you couldn't have made it any harder? Now look what you've done, it looks like a slaughterhouse in here..." He said as he let go of the knife that he held in his red stained hands, allowing the metal blade to drop to the ground as if it was a silver penny. The blade dropped on the bloody concrete floor with a soft clang as soon as it collided with the earthy ground. The room was empty, all that was there was him and his victim who was now soaking in their own blood that seeped slowly from the slit throat. The metal knife laid there in the blood as he looked down on the deceased body of his latest target, an unsettling expression moulded on his face as he remained disappointed with the kill that he had accomplished. "...Well, that's a shame. I didn't even get to have my fun with you..." He said with a sympathetic but sarcastic tone, clap rubbing his hands as he tried to remove as much blood from his hands as possible. Interrupting the clapping sound of his hands, the sound of a muffled vibration yelled from within his pant's pocket, quickly grabbing his attention as he ignored the excess blood that painted his hands and reached for the something within his jeans. Frantically trying to pull the vibration source from his pants, the tight fit that his leg wear had on his lower body proved to be a worthy enemy to his hand as it tried it's best to stuff it's body down the tight opening slit of the pocket in order to retrieve the latter source. After a few seconds of tiring effort, the vibrating finally came to a halt just as he was able to get his red hand right into the tight jean pocket. A loud irritated sigh escaped his mouth, the pain and suffering wasted for nothing as he put his soul and passion into pushing his hand down his pocket yet alas it was all for nought. Just as he proceeded to slide his hand back from deep inside the pocket, the vibrating restarted once again just as he was planning to bring his hand back to the outside world. With karma in his side, he reached for the object and strategically wrapped all his fingers around it's body, the muffled vibrating now tremendously shaking the man's dainty and blood stained hands as soon as it came into contact with it. Changing his expression to a somewhat angry but happy face, he started to forcefully pull the phone out of his jean pocket with a clenched fist around the body of the object. "Finally you piece of shit, what do you want?" He muttered angrily as he finally retrieved what seemed to be a phone from within his pant's pocket. The phone resembled that of a flip phone, composed of a thick body which held the keys and a thinner yet durable top that respectively held the screen. One could not work without the other and the two bodies were practically inseparable unless someone decided to break them in half. It's black body was finger painted with the blood that clung onto his hands as he touched the phone, but simple dirt on the phone that can be cleaned up after wasn't important right now as opposed to stopping the vibrating and find out who was on the other line of this phone. Flicking the phone forward, he instantly and skilfully flipped the top of the phone away from him to reveal the keyboard and the screen that the mobile phone held in order to communicate. In an instant however, the vibrating finally stopped and the incoming call was automatically initiated. He looked at the phone suspiciously as he was not personally expecting a call around a time like this, but curiosity has led him to do amazing things. "Hello?" He said with a concerned but professional voice. Just in case, he had to be careful what he said as nearly anyone can be able to gain special unique information from his person and his person only. "...H-Hello there? Is anyone there?" A scared voice responded hesitantly. Surprised, his eyes slowly widened up as he came to recognise the sound of the voice on the other side of the line. A sweat droplet quietly sneaked out from his pores from his hairline as it trickled down his head and slid down the side of his face. "No... No it can't be..." He struggled to say as his throat tightened in fear. "...Wai-Wait. Is, is that you? No it can't be." The voice responded, this time much firmer and thorough than before. "Yeah it's me! But what the fuck do you think you're doing calling?" "...I just wanted, to see how you were doing." "Don't play games you idiot. I saw you..." A silent period began between him and the caller, the shock of speaking to an old friend over the line was enough to keep him in place, to calm down his guard and to become more neutral on the field. "I saw you die you fool." He said with a much more serious tone, now done with these mental games that this old friend of his decided to play over the phone. "...And that you did, but I didn't die. Did I?" The caller asked, his malicious grin could almost be heard over the phone line, taunting him with devastating memories of the event. Yet another moment of silence ushered in and the heavy, angry breathing was all that came out of him over the phone and he could feel his chest pumping in and out as his heart raced furiously, fuelled by the anger of that very moment. His heart wanted out and it was going to continue until it gets what it wants like a spoilt brat raised in the lap of luxury. He obviously wasn't too happy with the surprise gift. "You really need to fuck off. I've moved on. I'm done with you." "...Aw, don't be like that El." "I'm serious. Our partnership died when I saw you get pumped with bullets into your head." "...El, c'mon pal." "Shut it, I don't want to hear it." "...El~" The caller said as his voice trailed on after the last syllable, sort of like he was complaining like a young child who wanted their parents to buy them something as they pulled out the 'please' card. "I ain't playing here. I'm serious when I tell you to piss off and carry on with your own life. The life that I thought "...Now you're just being rude. I'll have you know, that what you thought was me wasn't actually. It was poor little Tommy who took the bullet for me." "I think you mean bullet''s''..." "...Yeah, sure. Bullet''s''" The caller said as a loud, uncomfortable sigh escaped in his breath and into the phone's mic. His mouth began to tremble and shake with anger and shock, the nostalgia and happiness to finally speak with an old friend dangerously mixed with the anger and hate that he had built up within himself when he realised that what he saw back then was all but just a facade, and that he was tricked into thinking that one of his oldest friends died trying to protect him. The guilt that he had mustered up over the years continuously began to eat away at his self esteem and courage, but this very phone call was just enough to cure him of this bad disease. He was finally back to normal, as his expression of anger and shock slowly transitioned into one of a serious and content nature and tone, his breathing slowing down and his heart rate returning back to normal. "Listen... If you want, call me after I'm done with work okay? I'm just finishing up a job here." He said as he looked back down to the dead body at his feet, he had almost forgotten about the job that he was sent here to do. "...You know what? That would sound super. You just finished someone yeah?" "Yep, not my finest work I'll tell you that. But it's definitely not my worst work yet, I'd say this would be somewhere around the middle." He said as he pocked the deceased body with the tip of his foot, poking it back as if to check if the target was somehow still alive and moving. Keep the phone to his ear and his eyes on the victim, he was returning back to his normal self in just a brief moment of time after having received contact with this mysterious old friend. "...That sounds good. So tell me El, what'd you do to this one?" The caller asked, intrigued in his latest work of art. He gave a big sigh of tiredness, almost like a yawn as he stretched out one of his arms whilst keeping the other one holding the phone to his ear. Looking around the room, the murder scene slowly became more detailed in his eyes as he could recall what had taken place as if he could remember it like the back of his hand. He never forgets a murder that he committed, no matter how complex or simple it was. "It wasn't an easy kill, so this guy gets a point for that I guess. I walked right into the room minding my own business, or at least I looked like it but you know, it's hard to do that when your target is a prisoner in this god forsaken prison in the middle of nowhere out in the ocean. So yeah, don't know how I figured out minding my own business and wandering into this random cell that luckily had the targeted victim stationed in it was going to work but it worked for a bit." He said proudly, retaining his eyes' focus on the dead body. "...Well now, knowing you, you can really accomplish the impossible no matter how fucking stupid it is." The caller responded impressed with the man's luck. "Aye, true that. Keep in mind, there are other prisoners and guards wandering around the grounds so I didn't have any other option but to do this as quietly as possible you know?" "...Oh I know, I've had my fair share of silent assassinations. They can be a pain if you're the inexperienced type. " A feint smile gleamed on his face, this reminded him too much of when they were close friends. "Good thing I've been doing this for eighteen years then huh?" "...Mhm, you're probably one of the more experienced assassins there besides the senior members. You've been at this game longer than me I'm not going to lie." The caller said as he proceeded to give a short chuckle at the end of his sentence. "I guess I am now that I think about it..." "...You've changed a-lot over the years El, just want you to know that I'm proud of you. But we're straying from the original topic here pal, what'd you do to this one?" The caller demanded with a soft tone, he was becoming real pushy as he wanted to know how it all went down. "Sorry about that then. Returning back, I only had knife on me because it was meant to be silent so there wasn't really much I could do at this point. When the guy saw me I simply smiled and proceeded my introduction with a swift stab to his chest, though surprisingly that missed." "...No way. That's crazy, another one of your targets actually dodged your strike?" "Yeah. I know, I'm gobsmacked too but it is how it is. Anyway, after he dodged my strike we entered a brawl and then it just came down to fist against fist, where in this circumstances it was only my fist against his head, over and over and over again." He said now looking at the victim's head, his face brutally bruised and scarred as purple spots dotted his face and a black eye covered his left, his nose bent out of shape and his jaw notably shifted to the right. "...Geez El, you really need to calm down you know?" "After that I pulled him up and I made him stand there as he tried to regain consciousness. Unfortunately, the guy didn't know I gave him time to run away whilst I was gripping my blade. Really is a shame that he had five seconds to run out the cell and yell for help but didn't use that time in his favour. So I slit his throat." He said with a grin, looking down at the victim's neck as a huge gaping slit in his throat was apparent, blood having gushed out and stained the man's front and now was drying up as the texture of the blood became rough. "...Well, not as thrilling as I imagined it to be but it's a job done nonetheless." "Oh? I don't think I got to the good part..." "...El? What good part?" "Don't worry, I'll tell you later. Just call me after I've finished up here okay?" "...Wait, no! El! Don't cut me off now! I swear to the gods El if I'm going to get cut in the next five seconds-" "Bye bye Richard" He said as he flavoured those three words with a combination of sympathy, sarcasm and cheekiness. "-I'm going to actually knock you out you stupid cun-" The caller yelled into the phone before being rudely interrupted as the signal connecting both phones was cut by the automatic action from his phone. He had flipped the phones top back onto the bottom whoch led to it completely switching off the phone. "Why can't you call me by my proper name you dick, even when your dead you never cease to amaze me. Honestly, how hard is it to say Elyews?" He said shaking his head in a disappointed voice. Remembering the dead body in the room, he quickly shoved and slipped the flip phone back into the jeans pocket and placed both hands on his hips. "Well I guess it's back to work for me." He sighed as he lifted up the target's dead body from the ground and turned it onto their back, showing the full damage that he was able to do before the kill except for one thing. One small detail that he had left out from the conversation that led to his pride in this work of art. The slit in the throat was big, big enough for a hand the size of El's to fit inside without much struggle thanks to it's size and shape. Reaching for the victim's jaw, El slowly pulled apart the closed mouth to reveal what really had happened as his blood stained hands touched the rough, cold skin of the recently deceased. Quiet, soft chuckling could be heard from a grinning El as he looked inside the jaw. Everything was fine except the lack of a tongue missing from inside the victim's mouth.